This Plane Flew 30 Minutes, Prior to its Crash, with No Tail: Air Disasters | Smithsonian Channel 

The pilots had done their best. Salute. At least with the effort they had put in, 4 people have survived

Those pilotes are HEROES. More people survived the crush, it's really a shame that the people in power did not do what they were supposed to do in order to save their citizens.

Roller coaster flight of death with 30 minutes of hell, it must've felt like an eternity. The pilots went far above and beyond the call of duty, even the investigators were impressed. RIP to those lost.

I cannot even begin to imagine what a drawn-out, terrifying, and physically grueling death this was for hundreds of people 😢

524 in total,520 perished,4 survivors.The pilots did their best to control their crippled B747 until the very last moment.

There were more survivors than 4 but the rest had perished because of hypodermia, wounds, bone fractures etc. If people had intervened in time, more survivors would have been saved…RIP for the people who died in this awful accident 🙏

The pilots fought the beast and kept it in the air for 30 minutes, what a brave pilots

This is to note that other pilots of JAL were not able to sustain the aircraft under similar conditions on a simulator than what these pilots did in real life. It was only the Japanese bureaucracy that killed more people overnight. Had they allowed the Americans to help when they spotted the wreckage, probably more passengers would've been saved.

残念なことに日本ではこの飛行機がミサイルによって撃ち落とされたと思っている人もいます。 この事実が広まってくれるといいですね

Welp, pilots have tested it in a simulators and only remained half of the time the real aircraft remained in air. Shows how they tried their best and fight for their lives on a bird that is heavily damaged, respect and rest in piece to the pilots and the people onboard the plane.

520 dead all because of an improperly repaired aft-pressure bulkhead. To this day Japan Airlines flight 123 is both the worst plane crash in Japan and the worst single plane crash in aviation history.

Very good job fellows!! Just imagine being one of those 4 people who survived the crash. it must've felt like a gift from god to be alive!

You can absolutely not afford to take shortcuts when it comes to plane repairs or maintenance. The pilots did their best.

Salute to the pilots for your bravery and for never giving up on control of the plane, sir! Prayers for the victims and their families! Tragic.

It's no wonder it's one of the deadliest and most terrifying plane disasters in history... Only 4 miraculously survived while 500+ were dead...

Air in the cabin the pressure is set to ~750hPa to ease breathing and preventing bubbles forming inside lungs. Mistakes like these are catastrophic because pressure is powerful that can cause damage improperly repaired just like a mistake made in the Comet 73 years ago...

As sad as this was i am so pleased for the repeated nods to the skilled flight crew.

It is hard to imagine how a missing piece of metal could be the cause of crash of a jumbo plane.

The boeing747 is quite a historical plane but it has tragic events like this

The official investigation report says that the air craft lost control and finally went down due to rupture of aft pressure bulkhead, which was caused by incorrect repair by Boeing in 1978. Some people now insist with new evidences that this was not true. They say Japanese Self Defense Forces (SDF) mistakenly hit the tail fin of the aircraft with a non-explosive missile. Two fighter jets of SDF, chasing the aircraft, did not allow emergency landing at the US Yokota Air Base which was ready and fully prepared, and shot it down in the mountainous area 100 km (62 mile) north-west of Tokyo. The Japanese government closed the crash site with giving false information to the media and nationals saying “they could not find it exactly”. Rescue actually started in the morning next day, 14 hours after the air craft went down. The crash site was again only 100 km (62 mile) away from the central Tokyo. Many people remember that a nation-wide public TV network NHK reported that “two SDF members, who tried to go for rescuing people on board despite the order to stay, were shot killed by somebody”. NHK later recalled this news saying “it was not true” but people felt how NHK could make such a strange mistake. It is now believed that SDF collected pieces of their missile and burned the crash site using fire throwers for cover-up overnight, without rescuing about one hundred people who were alive right after the crash (according to four survivors). The US government, National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing helped the Japanese government with their “aft pressure bulkhead rupture theory” on condition that Japan would buy more air crafts from Boeing (Japan actually bought many air crafts from them despite this accident). Boeing admitted an error during their repair in 1978 only 25 days after the accident, which was extremely fast and strange. This aft pressure bulkhead theory however has many inconsistencies so that local pilots and aviation specialist have not agreed it. This story has been considered as one of the conspiracy theories for a long time but I now believe with new evidences this was probably what happened to JAL123.

A plane flying without a tail is like a dog running with 1 leg

I wondered what caused one of the most horrific plane crashes in the history. Holy crap I can't believe it was something that simple.

It was the worst plane crash in the aviation history, and I remembered what had happened to Japan Airlines Flight 123 on August 12th, 1985. I was on my way back to a dormitory from my office in Tokyo when I heard a news about disappearance of Japan Airlines Flight 123.On the next morning, television news reported that four passengers were saved, and I thought it was a miracle.

I used to work at aircraft maintenance facilitie ,and after seeing for myself the cracks that used to appear in the 747 made me think that there's no way I want to fly in 1. But 1 thing 1 must say is thank God for maintenance where they X-ray the planes to see if they have any cracks. 1 of the worst places was in the first class roof section, Because it's a egg shaped design it flexes with pressure and contract's making the ribs crack.

日本人が忘れない事故です。

R.I.P The 520 Who Perished Also, Those 4 Survivors Must have used Minecraft Creative Mode

It’s funny because a lot of people say “Boeing’s are unsafe” but when you look at the majority of Boeing crashes it’s do to either pilot error or poor maintenance

747's greatest pilot.

The pilots tried so hard to get the plane to safety But unlucky they cant

Mechanic who checked the plane killed himself after couple of days.

I give the pilots trying to keep the plane straight but its just sad what happened

An amazing feat of flying. They had an old school cockpit unlike today with modern technology. Even with that they did there utmost best...

This flight become a crazy roller coaster ride

Absolutely terrifying wow

The last words were as chilling as heck

Anyone watching in 2024? Boeing still not doing their best, it seems.

Remember folks: Cutting corners will always cut back at you eventually.

My god I bet that half hour was truly terrifying. The pilots did their best, they never stopped flying the aircraft.

I just flew on a airplane and they took the aircraft that was at the gate to the hanger because it had windshield crack.

The saddest thing is that many survived the initial impact, but the Japanese authorities refused help from the USAF at nearby Yokota AFB.

Just complacency by the repairmen lead to this smh

This plane crash tragedy hits me the hardest of all, followed by the Alaskan Airline one, where the pilots even managed to fly the plane upside down for a while before crashing into the sea. The pilots tried their hardest, but maintenance let them down so badly, both must have been terrifying, traumatic ordeals for crew and passengers 😥😥

Even worse Kyu Sakomoto was on that flight along with some Hollywood and Bollywood celebrities

I can't describe how much I hate those people at work who not work by given standarts and think they know everything better though they are just lazy incompetent idiots like those people who did that repairing. In theory there was a very small chance of recovering the plane but given the circumstances adrenaline , shock and not knowing what actually happened it was impossible for even the best pilot.

It makes me feel sad that the pilot try to there best but at the end they know sure that they gonna crash and they even tried to crash so that the pilots die but that the passengers survive the last word of the pilot had to be: power nose up its the end. And then they crashed.

i'm so sad for this incident

Stories like this are why I did not become an airline mechanic. You fuck up on a car? Blow a motor, ruin a wheel, hit something? You more than likely won't get fired and usually won't be putting anyone's life at risk. (At least if your thorough and check your work) but if you even so much as forget to torque one bolt to spec on an aircraft, something like this could happen and you could be responsible for the deaths of hundred(s) of innocent people. I couldn't live with that..

We should note that, in the end, the pilots' desperate efforts saved four women.

I think people from other countries have only heard about this accident from the official announcement. Officially, the accident was caused by a repair error by Boeing. However, in Japan, there is a high probability that this accident is considered an incident rather than an accident. However, the information is controlled by the government and the US military, and some parts of the voice recorder have not yet been released. This story is treated as an open secret in Japan. Specify circumstantial evidence. supplement all engine at 1:44 To Japanese people, it sounds like Orange Air. In Japanese fighter training, orange floating objects are used to represent the enemy aircraft. Comments from the Prime Minister at the time: Even if I die, I won't be able to tell you the truth; I will take it with me to my grave. Comments from JAL's vice president at the time - he said he might be killed if he told the truth. The deputy attorney general at the time said that if the truth were known, there would be war. It seems that the meaning of the war is not just a war between countries. There have been numerous sightings by residents near the accident site that two Japanese fighter jets were following behind JAL Flight 123. However, the Japanese government has made a strange announcement that it has flown fighter jets after the accident. There is no way they would fly a fighter jet that cannot carry out rescue operations after an accident. Immediately after the accident, a U.S. military helicopter from Yokota Air Base went to help. However, when they arrived at the scene, the Japanese government refused to help. US military helicopters are flying back to Yokota Air Base. Despite this, the accident site has not been identified for over 14 hours (the biggest mystery) According to the Japanese rescue team that arrived at the accident scene, the bodies were so charred that it was impossible to tell whether they were male or female. Normally, there should be some part of the body that doesn't burn, such as the back side. Aircraft fires were supposed to smell like aviation fuel (similar to kerosene), but the scene was filled with the smell of gasoline and tar. A military flamethrower burns a mixture of gasoline and tar. Afterwards, a diver happened to find the vertical tail of JAL Flight 123 in Sagami Bay, but the government said it was over and made no attempt to pull it out. 90 days later, the Japanese government concluded the worst and most humiliating economic agreement with the United States (the so-called Plaza Accord).To put it simply, the Japanese economy was too strong, so they forced the yen to appreciate. As a result, Japanese export companies were hit hard and many other promises were made in favor of the United States. My guess is that Japan could not say anything to the American government, which knew the secrets of the Japanese government, and had no choice but to do as the United States told them. After that, the proportion of Boeing passenger planes in Japan suddenly increased.

Godbless to all whom lost there lifes this should never of happened poor maintainence there is to many aircraft that are very badly mantained to me its either sheer greed by the owners of the planes do want to spend money or man made errors rip.❤❤❤

May those people be with lords kingdom.

They said only 4 people urvived the flight but then they died slowly due to injury there was 61 passengers survived but died to slowain

Minute mistakes make loss of human and millions

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼✈️😢

One simple mistake caused 520 people to die.

It is not a miracle is no one survived. I rather die right away than the horror of doing up and down for 30 long minutes.

Those people in the plane, I cannot even imagine the pure terror that everyone felt,the difference from the simulator and the real plane is that in the simulator you know in the back of your mind you are in a simulator, the those that flew that plane they knew their live were on the line,as for the faulty repair,did it happen to save time and money,or bad training!!!!!! I wonder.🤔🇬🇧

The fact the phugoid cycle is equal to death You will keep rising, but every time you lower you go to an even lower altitude. Until you crash

Because the accident report is very messy The accident raises some questions in the accident investigation report. Private experts are still informally investigating when the pressure bulkhead destruction occurred.

0:07 that kid predicted the tragedy… Jokes aside. Lets all remember the victims of the accident. RIP The passengers and crew of flight 123.

There pilots fought for their plane. I wish that they were somehow successful even though the odds were against. You just can't control a plane with out a tail.

Who was making movies inside the falling plane? A very courageous team of filmmakers.

インチキ事故報告書

But, the report of the investigation has some contradiction. It is so skeptical that the decompression happened. One of survivor, who was a off-duty flight attendant, said nothing like decompression had not happened. The record of the movement of the B747 shows it is the vertical tail, not the wall that was broken first. It explains something hit the vertical tail. On that day the U.S navy did military excercise near the route of JAL 123. It is said they launched missiail for the training. But Japanese government had no way of knowing what they did at that time.

Please God Keep these souls by your side

0:08 did that boy just predict the fate of the plane?

I remember this accident very well, it happened in 1985 I was 19 then. All this because of a tail strike that ocurred some ten years earlier and was poorly repaired. To my knowledge there was one survivor only, a young girl, not four.

It's darker here.

Here’s the entire flight data recording of that incident: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PxT51aeUaHQ.html

If there is nothing inherently wrong with Canada, then prove it by admitting facts, investigating yourselves, like this airline and reform. Then you too can go on to maintain the reputation you had taken before the disaster that is Trudeau came along.

Worst ever nightmare! Where are the ''gods' when you need one of them?

WOW son heroes los de jal

0:01 is that vertical take off?

"...or hope for some miracle which never occurred." - couldn't say it better.

Denzel might have been able to land that plane. Sully for sure. I'm just kidding. That is a very high level of Bravery to sit in that cockpit and do your best to save lives. Hat off to them and all the pilots who have been in that situation.

RIP pilots and passengers those 4 passengers survived they where so lucky

Why the captain seat on the right side?

I made some bets with some people saying that I could land that plane on a simulator,the only problem,I dont have the funds to go to a simulator.

Those pilots were heroes. I pray for the souls of all lost on the anniversary of this horrible disaster

The fact that the crew kept her flying for as long as they did is an impressive feat. Given that they had virtually no control.

If I recall correctly once the cause of the crash become common knowledge and that the catastrophic failure was his fault the maintenance manager in charge of the repair committed suicide.

Why aren't cameras installed in strategic places so pilots can inspect all parts of the plane in flight?

It's amazing to see how deadly this crash was yet some people survived, while another crash landed softly in the water and all people were dead. Gotta love physics sometimes.

Does no one inspect these planes !!!!!!!!!!!???!!

Can the next plane crash be sriwijaya air flight 182

was their anything the pilots could have done

いきなりおすすめに出てきた笑

1:40 make a paper plane that can glide well, go in an open space and throw the paper plane, You will see it will start to do what this part describes, goes all the way up till it lowers due to less speed Edit: also want to mention I’m impressed how they keep it up in the air for 30 minutes, they did not give up

Of course,the pilots did their best and more in order to save the plane and its passangers but 30 mins of hell ..i mean.. Terrible..absolutely terrible..

1:30

One wishes that instead of smashing against a mountain, perhaps the plane would have maybe glided unto the ocean or a smooth rice field cushioning the impact somewhat and maybe, more lives could have been saved. I know..dream land. But..I can't help wishing it. Not the first time technicians take short cuts bringing about these unnecessary tragedies. It's criminal...

Just imagine.. what it must be like.. - you Millennials & your childish comments. Grow up. It's obvious what happens.

I think this is the one of which there is a black box recordingbhere on RU-vid where the pilot's last words are "It's the end!" Sad.

If Boeing used German engineering like in the Airbus this and many other crashes could have been prevented

I hope this type of tragedy will never happen again. It took this crash to learn a valuable lesson to have much safer procedures which are now performed.

That’s the engineers fault of Boeing it’s because the plane b747 they unscrewed the middle screw and the air blows 56Km/h and the problem is Boeings stop selling 747 it’s because the jal123

How horrific

Brown Anthony Rodriguez Brenda Lewis Scott

It is definitely design flaw for loosing the tail section like that, even pressure wall is damaged. In military Aircraft, even B52 has some incident for loosing the Tail section like that. But, the B52 pilots could manage the Aircraft for their safer landing. SO, we should not deceived by such Excuse, for covering up their design flaw, lack of consideration and fail safe system. . Are you saying to the world that they have No Better design to protect whole tail section, even in case of pressure wall failure?

Brave Pilots, and that they held the plane in the air for just over 30 minutes is incredible. I'm wondering if an emergency fuel dump might have prevented an explosion, though.. Dump enough feul for the inevitable, but keep just enough to try and maintain some type of airspeed..